~ the ramblings of a perambulent and often distracted sojourner

Monthly Archives: August 2006

The University of WA Book Sale is on its second to last day and I managed to get there. Had to park a good kilometer away and I had nothing to carry books with so assigned myself the task of buying no more books than I could carry under my arm 1km on a warmish day. Ton’s of books to browse through – but I was stretched to find some I could use. The theology section was full of titles I already had or that I had already jettisoned. Ended up with some general Aussie folk-lore stuff – I usually enjoy grazing on such. How’s this for taciturn?

Two swagmen who had been mates for a long time were tramping out west in the wheat country. There were good young crops on either side of them. Harry took his pipe from his mouth and pointed to one of the paddocks.
“Nice crop of wheat,” he grunted.
Five hours later, when they were seated by their campfire, Bill broke the silence.
“Wasn’t wheat. ‘Twas oats.”
Then he rolled out his blanket and went to sleep. The sun was well up next morning. Harry and his swag were gone. Bill found a roughly scribbled note under a stone at the foot of the nearest tree.
“Too much b—– argyment in this here camp,” it said.

I’m currently pulling Ephesians 6:10-20 apart in readiness for Sunday’s harangue. It’s one of those extremely visual passages with ready made images from my Sunday School days – the Roman soldier kitted out in battle gear. The Sunday School message was quite evident in suitably modified moral protection terms. Wear the armour that will protect you from unwise choices! Given the universal and cosmic dimensions of Ephesians, however, I see the metaphor dealing with deeper and darker themes. Rather than being tacked on to the preceding behaviour codes as a kind of codicil, this martial picture brings us full circle to the opening. There are practical implications for living out the tensions of the universal vision arising from the cosmic victory of Christ’s reign. The kaleiodoscopic picture of Church triumphant and Church militant merging in and out of each other comes to me. I wonder how helpful and relevant these terms are in today’s context. In Christendom, they presented winning and comforting images to people. In the so-called post-Christian era, however, some other metaphors may be more helpful. We’ll see what my Wednesday night group does with all this!

Meeting with a book club forces me to read things I wouldn’t normally come across. I wouldn’t normally access books from Oprah’s Book Club, for instance. I’m glad of the opportunity however, for I have come across a range of fascinating material in the form of stories and dilemmas that would not arise out of my normal spectrum of reading material. Take House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III, (Sceptre, 1999)

I would not have picked it up in a fit in a book shop – title obscure, not in my habitual book bays, don’t know the author, etc. As “assigned reading” where you know you are going to engage in discussion with your reading peers, however, it becomes compelling.

And in this instance at least, the narrative is most compelling. Set in current day California, it is a story of bureaucratic bungling that brings unsought conflict between the interests of an immigrant family and a lonely woman recovering from a relationship breakdown colored with drug addiction. Each has just cause, neither has a clear path towards resolution. The consequence from unfolding events is a tragedy of Greek proportions.

And this is where a book I would normally have passed by becomes a source of reflection for matters with which I am deeply engaged on a daily basis. I am deeply involved with families and individuals whose circumstances bring them into cultural, psychological and spiritual conflict socially and with officialdom. Heaven knows I get caught up in this myself and have to ask where I am being compromised and “what is the way of wisdom?” What is at stake and what can be surrendered for the sake of the community’s ultimate good? To answer that question in the context of this plot puts each of the characters in a position where the kind of sacrifice they would need to make would be more than could be reasonably asked of anyone. The temptation will be for some to say that the immigrant family should be more flexible, but why should they be the only ones to bend? Particularly when they are assimilating the values of their adopted country?
And does my habitual advocacy reaction colour my own assessment here?

Here’s a survey being run by the Australian Democrats. Basically it’s asking how involved with each other church and state should be in forming public policy.
It’s at http://www.democrats.org.au/survey2/survey/GodGovt_v2/
Give it a go!
Thanks Michael Bullard for the tip off.

Church reviews, Celtic models of ministry and Paul’s letter to the Ephesians bring about another of those synchronous moments of which I am quite fond! The Revised Common Lectionary has us travelling through Ephesians right now – a marvelous treatise of a vision of universal community that embraces all – for all are from God and, under Christ, are part and parcel of God’s now-revealed purpose for all creation. Something we have termed the fifth gospel – the gospel of “Wow!” Now how do we live out its ramifications in community – that’s the rub.

Doherty asserts three crises currently facing the church and Western Society generally – the crisis of individualism, a crisis of faith, and a crisis of lifestyle. He seeks the answer in the kind of community spirituality suggested by the Celtic missionary era. Getting pretty close to the kind of society feted in Ephesians, it seems.

A few years ago I stumbled across something called the Celtic approach to Christianity. As I investigated further, it was apparent that I was at a fork in the road in how I approached my ministry. I realised that I was often focused on ecclesiastical organisational minutiae when my heart was really set on the nitty gritty of divine-human engagement. The stories from Celtic times (whether mythic or real) fired my imagination and helped me embrace my task in a more feisty, imaginative and bold manner. Yes, the organisational details still require attention, but the end is clearer and more distinctive. I was reminded of all this when my copy of A Celtic Model of Ministry by Jerry C Doherty (Liturgical Press, 2003) arrived today. A glance through its pages looks like something now familiar and something new. I look forward to reading it.

The controversial Bill that will see all arriving asylum seekers being processed offshore, out of sight and out of mind, beyond scrutiny and legal protection, will be re-presented to Parliament this week by the Prime Minister. Opposing MPs of his party have now been lobbied and pressured to support his line and it is unsure what the final vote will now look like. Some half dozen Senators have yet to decide, and the success of the Bill depends on their support. This morning I have done what I can by writing to these Senators and urging them to oppose the Bill. One excellent site that monitors the process of this and other justice/mercy issues in this country is www.safecom.org.au I commend it and its practical call to action for those who are so called.

Wednesday already! I have just launched a harangue for this week’s church newsletter about the necessary evils of statistics and surveys. We are beginning a Church Life Review by filling out National Church Life Survey forms as a congregation together during the service. (This will be good practice for Census night on Tuesday). Then we will have our AGM where, no doubt, we will be focused on more reviews and stats. Then I jump in the car and head to a retreat in the hills where a review with another organisation will be taking place through the afternoon and evening!

These days a review seems to be around every corner! When do we just hop in the bi-plane, leave the tarmac and go barn-storming! How to avoid the clutches of analysis paralysis.

But in my more reflective moments I can see the purpose of such reviews. It is simply because some risky ventures have been taking place that regular re-assessment is necessary. Like walking through a desert and needing to pause frequently to take a GPS reading to ensure we are still heading in the direction we earlier discerned. Such analysis is not paralysis – its purpose is to make sure we get to where we said we want to get!

In which case I am happy to embrace what begins this Sunday!

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